*HELP* Aggressive Green Cheek

I need some advice on my Green cheek conure and what to do with how aggressive he's been for the last few years. Iv'e had Reggie since he was 2 months old (over 4 years now) and he was a total sweetheart. He'd let me scratch his head and hang out on my shoulder without a problem. About 6 months after I got him I adopted another green cheek conure named Lux who is a couple of years older than Reggie and is an absolute love bug. He doesn't mind my hands at all and is super cuddly. It didn't take them long after introducing them to having them living in the same cage and now they're best friends.

When Reggie hit puberty he started biting more and I knew that was normal for a bird who was going through puberty so I was patient. Well it's almost as if he never got over that phase and has progressively gotten worse. He can't interact with anyone besides me or he'll draw blood on their finger. A lot of the time when I'm interacting with him he bites me REALLY hard. Sometimes even when I'm offering him treats he'll bite. When I think he starts to get better he takes a turn and does something unexpected. For instance it seemed like he was getting better when I was letting him hang out on my shoulder more. But yesterday and today he was on my shoulder and he bit my ear really hard.

I got his wings clipped because he kept dive bombing me and my roommates and I thought that would help with his aggression too but it hasn't very much. He's also started squawking excessively. I know birds are supposed to be loud, but it hasn't really been an issue until the last few months. We can't play music in the house or even talk sometimes because they just start screeching over and over and over. Covering them only works sometimes.

Also, I'm not sure if it's related but when he was about 2 he got attacked by a dog. He wasn't hurt but it seems like he hasn't been the same since the incident.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated. I love these birds and I don't want to give them up but I'm at my wits end.

There is a lot to comment on, but I am exhausted from my crazy day. You shouldn't really cover him for screaming (covering should be for sleep-- there are other ways of cutting off attention that are less confusing). You may need to take a week of two, get some dang good earplugs and let him scream a bit (much like a child mid-tantrum...but this will all depend on the reason for the screams)...I am not saying to neglect him, but if you stop playing music because of him, you show him that by screaming he can get you to come near or get the music to stop---there is also a chance he is screaming because he is excited. If you play music while looking at him in the same room, does he still scream?....I will try to type more later, but this is not a case of birds beyond hope---not in the least. It sounds like you are reacting to his screams...as in, attending to them and altering your behavior when he does it. If your bird is screaming for attention or out of impatience, you should let him scream --wait for a quiet window and return (e.g., 20 solid seconds etc...it will change depending on how much progress is needed) ---I am oversimplifying this because I have to sleep, and not all screaming is bad screaming, but it sounds like this type might be--do not make your bird quite your attention cold-turkey (that would be bad too). I have written all of this under the supposition that I know why he is screaming, but it is a shot in the dark based on the short descriptor you gave. I am guessing this relates to him being bonded to you (perceiving you as a mate) and defending you/demanding your presence. Look up ABC charting (antecedent, behavior, consequence) to further isolate the triggers etc
Side note- we often encourage hormonal behavior without knowing it. Watch this as well:
[ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=by54qevmF-4"]What a HORMONAL BIRD Looks Like!! - YouTube[/ame]

I read your post a few time just to make sure I understood what you had already done, and as Noodles already mentioned, you have made common mistakes that lots of people make when their parrots start displaying unwanted behaviors such as biting and screaming in certain situations...The way you have handled these things has only reinforced his behavior and made the problems worse. Basically, you've taught him that "If he screams, he'll get what he wants"...And as far as the biting goes, I don't know what you've tried/done to attempt to correct it, but you haven't mentioned trying anything that works...

So we can help you with this, but you have to make sure that EVERYONE who lives in the house with you participates and follows the plan every single time he bites, otherwise it won't work...It's called "This Shunning-Method", and it works very, very well, and also very quickly if you follow it...The first day that you start using "The Shunning Method" is rough because you'll end-up doing it many times back-to-back-to-back, but they are very intelligent and they get it very quickly...I saw "The Shunning Method" stop a Green Cheek Conure who was biting every time his owner, who he was closely bonded with, every single time she picked-him up or had him step-up for her, and he stopped biting after the very first day of doing it. But everyone in the house has to participate if they are in the room at the time that he bites anyone, and you have to do it EVERY time he bites anyone. That means the first day he will likely have to go through this process multiple times in a row, but that usually does the trick...

***As far as the "screaming" goes, this is easy to fix...He's either screaming because:
#1.) You have his cage located in a room other than the "main room" of your house, meaning the room where the people of the house spend most of their time when they are home, and he is screaming because he knows that a member or members of his "Flock" are home, he can hear them, but he can't see them. Birds are "Flock Animals", and when it's a pet bird, especially a parrot with the intelligence of a 3-4 year-old human child, they feel extremely insecure, unsafe, and uncomfortable when their "Flock" is near but they aren't with him. For this reason you should ALWAYS locate your parrot's cage in the "main-room" of your home, which is the room "where the action is", and where the people who live in the home spend most of their time when they are home, and where visitors spend time when they come over...Usually this is the living room, family room, TV room, den, etc. So whenever you or anyone else is at home and you/they are hanging-out in the "main room" of your home and watching TV, reading, talking on the phone, talking to each other, eating a meal, playing video games, listening to music, etc., the bird's cage should be in that room with them...This doesn't mean that they/you have to be paying attention to or directly interacting with the bird, it's all about "Passive-Interaction" and just being with him, as YOU AND THE PEOPLE YOU LIVE WITH ARE "HIS FLOCK". And just being in the same room with you or others in the home when they are doing whatever they are doing will make him feel like he's a part of his "Flock", make him feel comfortable, safe, and secure, and will encourage him to entertain himself inside of his cage with his toys (make sure he has at least 6-10 different types of toys and foraging activities at all times and they are rotated with new ones each month so he doesn't get bored)...
OR IF HIS CAGE IS ALREADY LOCATED IN THE "MAIN ROOM" OF YOUR HOME,

#2.) He's screaming simply because he's learned/been taught that if he screams he will get what he wants. You made the statement that "We can't even listen to music because he starts screaming whenever we turn it on"...So you turn-on music, he doesn't like it and he starts screaming, so you turn it off, and he stops screaming...Right? Yeah, so he has been taught that "If I scream I'll get what I want"...If his cage is already located in the "main room" of your home, then the solution to the screaming issue is to simply ignore it (unless he's screaming because his cage is in your bedroom or a spare-room and he's screaming constantly while you or others you live with are at home in the living room and he can't see them; relocating his cage is the immediate solution if that's the issue, obviously)...However, if his cage is in the main-room of the home and he is already "among his Flock", and he starts screaming because someone is doing something that he doesn't like, like turning on music or the TV, or because you're eating and won't give him some of your food, etc., it doesn't matter what it is that he doesn't like, the solution is always the same: You just have to totally ignore his screaming and keep doing whatever it is you're doing that he doesn't like and is screaming about! Yes, it will suck at first for you and the others who live in your house, so prepare them and let them know that it's imperative that they just tough it out for a day or so...This situation is quite-literally a "battle of who can outlast the other", and you just have to stand your ground and TOTALLY IGNORE HIM WHILE HE'S SCREAMING, AND CONTINUE TO DO WHATEVER IT IS YOU'RE DOING THAT HE DOESN'T LIKE...And I do mean "Totally Ignore" him...You can't yell at him about screaming or tell him to stop, because that's paying attention to him because he is screaming, so he is getting what he wants...When he starts screaming because he wants to get his way, you have to pretend like he's not even there, as hard as that is to do you just have to do it, everyone does, and keep on doing whatever you're doing...He might continue to scream for hours, but the minute you address his screaming or you stop doing whatever it is he wants you to stop doing, HE WINS...All it usually takes is one time of outlasting him for you to win the war, because he'll finally learn that screaming won't get him what he wants...But you cannot give-in, or it will never end...

And do a search here in the main forum index for "The Shunning Method", it's explained in-detail many times on here by myself and others, and it will end your biting problem very quickly as long as you and everyone else in the house reads it, understands it, and does it EVERY TIME HE BITES!!!

EllenD Comment above cover most of what I was going to write. But one thing is don't use the cage cover as means to get him to stop screaming, only use for sleep and keep him off your shoulder for now, he has to learn it a privilege earned once he learns to step down on command. Then never encourage hormonal behavior and people do this by mistake by petting toward back wing and below, try to pet only on the head and once in a while upper wing is fine, but once he start lifting wing stop as consider foreplay for birds and he then consider you now as a mate and even become more aggressive in time.

Wow thanks for all that! After doing a little more research about hormones I learned that the tent in their cage is a big no no. I removed it immediately. I'm pretty sure that's why Reggie has been so aggressive.

kat_ said:

Wow thanks for all that! After doing a little more research about hormones I learned that the tent in their cage is a big no no. I removed it immediately. I'm pretty sure that's why Reggie has been so aggressive.

Click to expand...

We should start asking that question right away whenever someone says that their bird is "suddenly aggressive" or has become a chronic egg-layer...From now-on the first thing I type is going to be "Does your bird have any type of "Happy/Snuggle Hut" or tent inside of their cage?"...

I'm glad you removed it, because regardless of the hormonal-behavior they cause, they are simply dangerous and literally a threat to their lives. They need to stop selling them...they won't, but they should....

Okay so after taking out the hut they have been acting completely different. My green cheek that was very aggressive is much nicer now and has barely bitten me at all the last week which is great but the other one who was very lovey and nice has become aggressive and bites me really hard all of the time he even will attack me when I have a treat for him. Is this normal after taking the hut out of their cage?

The other one is probably jealous of you and annoyed...Just face value, you removed the hut so you kind of were a....."cloaca block", if you catch my drift...Again, just guessing lol

You can read my thread Ta-dah week of biting, right now fourth in conure forum thread..
Changes to the cage, even if fir the good can upset them. You might just have to give time to get past that.
Make sure hands are always good. No useing them to shoo them away from trouble. It's easy to create fear of hands. Hands always give treats
As Noodles said, you may have jealousy now. As the friendly bird sees you give love to the other one. So lots of making over both.
The shunned methods can work well. When they bite say no, and out the biter back. Walk away for a few seconds and come back and start over. Offer a treat for step up and go back to normal. If a bite again, a little longer in the cage maybe a few minutes and start over. Third bite right away I put them back for an hour or more. But this method only works if your bird wants to be with you, and doesn't want to be left alone.
Keep track of when and why bites happen. And try and think of what you need to do differently.
Good job on having improvement! You are getting there!
As an aside, the birds may not actually like living together, and might need their own cages. My two that adore each other can't stand sharing a cage for more than a couple of hours.